Darienne

Hi Paul Great post. We don't downhill ski anymore, but we do have a chip truck nearby...beside our little local library actually. And I think they make poutine. And we'll have some next time. They do make probably the BEST fries I have ever had...and this year they are staying open all winter. Huzzah! Wednesday is usually fries for lunch day. Naturally our two pups like fries also, and they'll really go for poutine! (No, they are both slim, not overfed, etc, etc, for the horrified dog-lovers. )

Greetings fellow Montrealer. The two men did mention that not all Canadians want to claim poutine as their national dish. It was all a bit tongue in cheek...or mouth, I guess. I ate poutine at a local bar in Peterborough. I do recall driving the Quebec route from Haifax to Ontario and seeing poutine in a MacDonald's. That was more than eight years ago.

Noted writers, Calvin Trillin and Blake Eskin, recently visited a NY restaurant to eat Poutine, that curious dish of French Fries, gravy & cheese curds and this was written up in the New Yorker November 23/09. 'The Poutine Perplex'. Poutine is not high minded eating, but it is something to remember. I've had poutine once...ordered by a table mate...I could never order it...it looks quite unappealing to me...and I have to confess that I loved it. We gobbled the poutine down in mere minutes. Straight to the hips and the heart. Also noted...and dear to my heart...by the gentlemen above, the fact that Montreal bagles are NOT New York bagels. They are their own beloved bread item. Silly of me to care, but then I am a Montrealer in my heart forever and I bridled under the notion that Montreal bagels were simply New York bagels transported north across the border. I would love to have a Montreal bagel and thank the heavens above that they are not available anywhere near to me.

Hi Liz, Try it again as Kerry suggests...a shame to do all that extra work by breaking it up first and then dipping the pieces. And one thing Kerry taught me...always dust the toffee with cocoa before you put the chocolate on it. Helps tremendously for the chocolate to adhere properly. Good luck.

Gosh, I don't know about definitive...but the recipe I use for invert sugar and believe me, it is plenty viscous is 4 cups sugar to 1 1/2 cups water plus 1/4 teaspoon citric acid. Bring to a boil. Then simmer 1/2 hour stirring occastionally. Store in tightly sealed container. Lasts a long time.

Hi Ilana, Sixteen at once? Boy, are you brave. I'll think back to our workshops with Mari, Kerry's protege...but there were only three of us and what a difference that made. We got messy with chocolate and we learned!

Cole slaw as noted above. We saw it commercially available in Utah last year. Never considered it before.

Mendicants? From Wordsmith Talk: Mendicant (alternative Mendiant) is also the name of a small disk or bar of chocolate which has been sprinkled with dried fruit or nuts.

Mendicants?

Lizztwozee, I was stunned to read your letter. I have been trying for years to find, without success, a Chinese sesame candy. Even tried the Asian candy threads in eGullet. Mine was a bit different. It was chewy, but flavored with oriental toasted sesame oil. So very different from anyone I had ever tasted before. I never even got one reply to my question. Perhaps you'll be more lucky and perhaps this thread will also lead to my need. I too tried all sorts of Asian folk with no luck.

I forgot to add yesterday that Anita Chu is PastryGirl on eG

Received a new candy cookbook today from Amazon. Field Guide to Candy: How to Identify and Make Virtually Every Candy Imaginable by Anita Chu. Quirk Books: Philadelphia, 2009. Chu also writes a blog, Desserts First. I haven't made anything from the book yet, and although I don't really care for the physical format...the book is thick, only 4 1/2" by 6", with rounded corners...sort of like a child's toy book, it certainly seems jam-packed with every candy you have every heard of and lots that you haven't. I opened the book randomly and found a Chinese milk candy recipe which I shall certainly try soon. One thing I love about the book is that not only does Chu provide a thorough description of each candy, she also provides a history, serving suggestions and extra notes...my kind of cookbook. I just LOVE all those extra interesting bits and bobs. Very inexpensive and it would fit right into a Christmas stocking. I'll report back after I have made something.

If I, desperately wanting, can come, I will bring my small Revolation, small marble slab, and dipping forks. (and anything else which I can think of which arises along the way) I can also bring a South African chocolate sold in a local store for the taste testing part.

Rice Krispie squares you say? Try the recipe with added cayenne. Very nice bite.

Oh my, they look lovely, Chocoera.

A dish of spiced almonds. A dish of chocolate wafers perhaps.

Yes, I got one of each on Amazon. My confectionery partner Barbara has a KA and I have a Cuisinart. And there was no shipping or handling. Very nice.

Is it only for K.A. or will it work on a Cuisinart too ? You simply buy the one made FOR the Cuisinart.

Truly wicked, that is.

I'm not good with architect plans, but if I read yours correctly, how are you going to vent your stove? If I could, I'd replace my counter tops with wood. Had wood countertops in Moab last year and loved them. Also if you are tall, get your counters higher than regulation one-size-fits-all. Or more importantly for me, as I am NOT tall, get your counters cut down by a couple of inches. My DH cut one set of counters down for me and even...who can believe this?...recut the stove so that it matched the counters. And welcome to eGullet.

Congratulations, girl. Now when it arrives, wrap it up and put it away until Christmas. NOT!

Confectionery Partner, Barbara, and I made 8 dozen chocolate-dipped, caramel-coated pretzel rods today. And a variety of this and that with the extra chocolate. Yummm...

A friend had been given a marble coffee table top and she kept it for years and years...until I knew she had it. Now I have it. Still I did pay in chocolates.

Hmmmm...that could go into the mailbox for eating on the long drive (rural mail). Or to the computer tech guys. Oh, great for the transfer station guys. Who can resist a brownie...better than fudge or most confectionery items for guys. Thanks. Heidi.

Because I am in a hurry this morning, I am not going to tease out Kerry's response which for all I know answered your question, but I shall reply to what you asked. My mold is: Tomric #I-1387 (label number on end of mold), .79" deep x 1.18" diameter. holds .39 oz/ or 11 gms. 24 cavities in the mold. It's quite small, way smaller than a Reese's PB cup. Almost dinky, I'd say. 1.18" = 29.9 mm. You are totally correct on that. Off to make chocolate-dipped, caramel-coated pretzel sticks until we run out of pretzels or energy. Good luck!